Many devices are known which can be used in cars or other vehicles as air fresheners. In this specification the term “fragrance” may be a simple perfume, that also includes a deodorant which itself may or may not be perfumed. One form consists of a plastic container adhered to the dashboard or another part of the vehicle containing a fragrance in solid form. The fragrance evaporates over a period of time and is released through slots in the container. Disadvantageously such devices are usually positioned in a place where they could be knocked off unless the adhesive is particularly strong. If the adhesive is too strong, then this marks the dashboard when the air freshener is replaced.
Another common form of air freshening device comprises a substrate of card, wood or the like which is impregnated with a fragrance, which is hung from the rear view mirror. Some of these devices do not last very long and others are very unattractive in appearance.
Recently there has been a marked increase in the use of fragrances in gel form. The devices for dispensing such fragrances are commonly provided by plastic packaging elements in which the diffusion of the fragrance takes place through the semi-permeable walls of a polymeric material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,527 describes such a gel which can be used as a fragrancing component in such an air freshening device. This gel is particularly advantageous in that it can be used in attractively shaped open containers without the need for sealing.
A gel fragrance is used in one air freshening device, which is currently on the market for home use, which comprises an attractive glass disk having grooves in one surface thereof containing the gel. As the fragrance is dissipated over time, the gel shrinks and is no longer supported by all of the groove walls. To prevent the shrinking gel from falling out of the container, a number of small grooves are used which are fairly narrow. However, in a smaller version of the device a series of small grooves may not be possible and other means must be found to ensure that the gel does not leak out of the device.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an air freshening or purifying device utilising a gel fragrance or other gel composition which has a convenient construction suitable for use in a vehicle, which has an attractive appearance and which can provide long lasting air freshening, or other, action in which a larger quantity of gel may be used than those known in the art.